PE at Thornton Creek: All the classes have Physical Education three times a week at Thornton Creek. Students are offered a variety of develpmentally appropriate activities throughout the year in their physical education classes. Special equipment for participation in PE is rare. However, if students have their own bicycle helmet it is helpful to bring it when we do wheeled activities. (Also on the day of PE it is helpful to wear athletic shoes that support the feet, not open-toed sandals or slip-ons, for example, for safety.) In addition to our own equipment, we participate in using the district travelling equipment (i.e. bicycles, roller skates, scooters).

Our P.E. curriculum is based on the Success Oriented P.E. program, which encourages students to give their best effort and to measure success by personal growth and improvement. The two incentive programs that are used in the PE program are PE Central Challenge and the President's Physical Fitness Test. The PE Central Challenge is a combination of individual skills, partner skills, and group skills. It was designed for 4th and 5 graders, however it is available to 2/3 grade classes and on up. If students complete 4,5,or 6 of the challenges, they receive a pin in recognition of their work. For the PPF test, 1st- and 2nd-grade classes are exposed to the test at least once during the year and practice exercises that are similar to the test, though very little emphasis is put on this test. Kindergarteners are not tested. If children's scores average 85% or higher on the five tests, then they receive a t-shirt. (The Seattle Sonics and Storm have sponsored this event, along with a reading program for the elementary students of Seattle.)

While I do not put heavy emphasis on scores, I do expect each child to do his or her personal best!

UNICYCLING
by Felix D.
 
At Thornton Creek school you can learn to ride a unicycle every Thursday in the gym. You should bring your own helmet, or if you forget you can borrow one of the school's helmets and use a hair cover. They have all different sizes of unicyles. It's really fun, but also hard.